JOHN SWEENEY

You are sitting in a meeting with your peers. You suddenly have an idea, what do you do?

1. Hold back until I’ve thought it through.
2. Preface my idea with "just thinking off the top of my head".
3. Announce my idea confidently.
4. Depends on who is in the room.
5. Don't share

A co-worker shares an idea for a project you are both working on, what is your reaction?

1. Look for all possible obstacles.
2. Give me a few seconds; I need time to consider it.
3. So grateful; we can now build on the idea.
4. Inspiration strikes and I propose a better idea.
5. Quite annoyed, we already have a plan!

You are working with a group and suddenly there is a disagreement. How do you react?

1. Convince the group that I am right, because I am!
2. Conflict stresses me out, I keep quiet.
3. Remind everyone of why we are there and help steer the conversation towards that goal.
4. Play diplomat and broker a compromise
5. Can't make up my mind, so I go with whatever the majority decides.

How do you react when something unexpected happens at work?

1. So frustrating! I vent to my co-workers.
2. It’s a mild irritation.
3. I keep my cool, just another thing to deal with.
4. It does not phase me at all; I know eventually everything will work out.
5. So exciting! I find how the change can help me move forward.

How often do you do things you are not good at or are new to you (in your personal and/or your work life)?

1. Very often, I am a life-long learner.
2. Often, my life demands me to be in new situations.
3. Sometimes, I am usually able to stick to what I know.
4. Rarely, I am in a pretty good groove.
5. Never, I have found a great niche for my skills.

When you are in a high-stakes conversation, what is your typical behavior?

1. Not sure, my mind tends to chatter so much it’s a blur.
2. Master of scripting - I am constantly thinking what to say next.
3. Multitasking galore - I switch between listening and planning what I am going to say next.
4. Mostly I focus on what the other person is saying, but do get distracted a few times.
5. Super focused on the other person - sometimes I surprise myself when I speak.

Are you good "on your feet" when you have to verbalize or react on the spot?

1. No, I go into deep stress mode immediately.
2. I have my moments of brilliance, but tend to be uncomfortable.
3. It really depends on the circumstances.
4. Pretty comfortable, but sometimes I get caught off guard.
5. Love being on the spot.

How do you react when a project fails?

1. Failure is part of success, like they say "steps towards success."
2. Disappointment, but bounce back relatively quickly.
3. Depends on how important the project was to me.
4. I keep re-analyzing why it happened and whose fault it was.
5. Total devastation - takes me a long time to gain my confidence back.

You have to collaborate with someone who has a very different style than yours (i.e. Introvert-extrovert, analytical-intuitive, direct-indirect, factual-emotional, relationship-transaction etc.). How do you react?

1. It's awesome, I can learn something new!
2. Great, they can add to the team and our work will be better for it.
3. It's OK, but I don't want to spend time learning how to collaborate with them.
4. I don't really care or notice these kinds of things.
5. It's stressful, I'd rather collaborate with someone I know.

You are in a meeting and you disagree with the direction in which the conversation is going. What do you do?

1. Keep your opinion to yourself.
2. Keep quiet, approach the decision maker after the meeting.
3. Depends on who is in the room.
4. Voice your opinion with a qualifier such as “I could be wrong, but...”
5. Share your opinion confidently and clearly.

Thanks for taking the Innovation Fitness Test

To see your results, simply fill in your name and email address and click below. A copy of your results will also be emailed to you.